Never Miss a Beat
by Reaper of Heroes
Summary: Faunus have never been the most accepted people in Atlas, and Neon was no acceptation to this rule. Always trying to be perfect, never missing a beat was how she got by. But the Vital Festival had been her first slip up, and the fall was going to hurt.


**Hope you all enjoy this. Just a little something I thought of while at work. Also, standard I own nothing RWBY disclaimer.**

Neon walked swiftly down the gloomy halls of Atlas Academy, shivering slightly as the cold from outside snuck its way through the windows. She hated how her uniform did not exactly help keep her warm, but Atlas standard for girls was a skirt at any time of year. Even now, while there was two feet of snow on the ground, and the sky was as gloomy and grey as the empty hall she was walking through. The only thing she was allowed to wear was this stupid, tiny, bland, gray, skirt that she hated so...

"Snap out of it," she muttered angrily to herself, shaking her head. "Never miss a beat." She needed to focus on the present, not the schools bad taste in fashion, and the present was her being summoned to Ironwoods office. As she came around a stone pillar to turn the corner, she saw Ironwood standing outside his office with a few other, older gentleman. She swallowed hard; it was the Atlas board of Directors. They had been there to accept her into the school almost 3 years ago, and they were here now, probably to kick her out. She was not sure for what reason they would kick her out, but they only ever showed up to accept or expel students. But she had not given them a reason to kick her out. Her grades were perfect, she was top of her class in combat, and she never got in trouble. There was no reason to kick her out, she always made sure of that. She realized she had frozen and was just standing still when Ironwoods voice broke her train of thought.

"Miss. Katt," he said, his voice reverberating slightly off the brick walls of the hallway. "We've been expecting you. Please, join us in my office." He offered her a small smile, before turning to enter the door behind him. The other gentleman only gave her cold stares and frowns. Neon followed them into the door, closing it softly behind her.

As she entered the room Ironwood motioned her to sit in a wooden chair facing his deck, before sitting in his own chair facing her. The three directors stood behind him, their military uniforms straight, the light from the lamp in the corner glinting off their many medals. She simply sat, legs and arms crossed, trying to make herself as small as possible. While Ironwood's blue eyes were warm and comforting, they were far over powered by the ice she was getting from these men.

"I'm sure you are wondering why you are here, Miss. Katt" Ironwood began, "And you would not be the only one." Neon detected a bit of venom in that last sentence. "But the board of directors has had a vote, and your attendance at this school is now in question." Her heart sank. This could not be happening. She was the best student at this school. Early to every class, turning in homework ahead of time. She did everything she ever could to be perfect, to never miss a beat, so how was her attendance in question?

"This vote happened," Ironwood continued, "After the Fall of Beacon. We were having a meeting, and Gerraldo here," he said, motioning to the man to his right, "Brought up your performance at the Vital festival. He believes that you were the factor that cause you and Flynt to lose in the round of twos, and that warrants expelling you from this academy. I would like to hear your interpretation of what happened during that round."

"Well" she began, speaking very quickly "Me and Flynt were doing just fine, until Weiss dove on top of him into the guiser. Then the blonde got all angry and used her symblance, and I tripped, and"

"So what you are saying," the man apparently known as Gerraldo interrupted angrily, "Is your unorthodox fighting method, a method you have been told several times to give up for a more standard form, cost you the match." He glared at her with an anger she did not think was possible for such a miniscule matter.

"Yes, I'd have to agree with him on this matter," the more dapper of the three men said, the same anger in his eyes. "You have been told since your acceptance at this school to forget your training in those beastly forms of combat, for more appropriate ones. Yet you clearly have no intention of changing, and have embarrassed the entire school in front of the whole world."

"Edmund" Ironwood sighed, turning to face him. "As I said in our original vote, she fought well. Neon always fights well, she simply made one mistake, but as a student I do not expect perfection. That is why she's here, to learn." He gave her a look, letting her know he had been on her side the entire time. "Besides, I believe bassing a students entire future on one fight is ridiculous."

"Be that as it may," the third man said, "Her behavior during said fight was unacceptable. Slapping her rear end, making faces at her opponent, absolutely childish. This school is not for children, Miss Katt." Neon wished she could just sink into nothingness with the looks she was getting from these men. They didn't have to say it for her to know, she had been getting these looks her entire life.

"While I cannot deny the truth behind Franks statement," Ironwood began, finally giver her his undivided attention, "because those actions were uncalled for. I understand the purpose behind them, to throw your opponent off her game. Miss Xiao Long is a very emotional fighter, but that still does not call for some of your actions on the battlefield. That being said, we have not decided on your future yet. So, if there is anything you would like to say, without interruption" Ironwood glanced over his shoulder at the man who'd interrupted her before, "Now would be the time." He gave her a soft, apologetic look, and she understood. It didn't matter what she said, even with Ironwood holding 2 votes, he was still outnumbered by the three men who stood behind him. They were never going to listen to her, but that didn't mean she shouldn't try.

"This school means the world to me" she began, forcing her voice through the knot in her throat. "I could not imagine a life without attending Atlas Academy, training to be a huntress in the military. To help the people of Atlas. I am sorry that my actions at the festival were inappropriate, but I simply made a judgement call on my opponent. Perhaps a poor one, but I can learn from that mistake. If you just give me the chance to improve, I will." She gave Ironwood a pleading look, before looking back down to her lap.

"Well put Miss Katt" Ironwood said. "Now, if you could please wait outside, the council will make their vote." Neon nodded, showing herself out of the office.

As she sat in the cold, metal chair outside of ironwoods office, staring blankly at the gray wall before her. She missed a beat, she missed one fucking beat, and it cost her everything. She slowly let her tail unfurl itself from under her skirt, curling it around to hold it. How could something so insignificant as this have caused her so much strife in her life. Through all her accomplishments, this had held her back. She always had to do so much better than her classmates, just to make up for her tail. She always had to be perfect, to never miss a beat, just to get by. It wasn't fair, but she knew that it did not matter to almost anyone in Atlas if it was fair or not. It simply was just the way it was.

At that moment the door to next to her opened, jolting her out of her thoughts, and Ironwood walked out. He turned to face her, closing the door behind him, his soft, saddened eyes giving everything away.

"Miss Katt, the council has voted three to two that your attendance at this school is to be terminated, and as such we must ask you clear your things from the premises. You have twenty-four hours. I am sorry, but I did all I could." As he turned to go back into his office, Neon spoke out.

"This really has nothing to do with the fight, does it General?" She knew the answer, she just wanted to hear it out loud. "They were just looking for an excuse, weren't they?" She was hoping Ironwood wouldn't notice the shakiness of her voice, or the tear slowly sliding down her face. Ironwood sighed, turning back towards her.

"I would love to say that is not the case Neon, but I would be lying if I did." He crouched down besides her, wiping away the tear that had crept down her cheek. "You know as well as I do that Atlas, while the most technologically advanced nation, is not the most socially advanced one. I would suggest applying at Shade academy when the borders reopen, and you will have my own personal letter of recommendation. And Vacuo is much more of an accepting place than Atlas." He stood back up, and disappeared through his office door. Neon sighed, and stood up. She had to clear her things out before tomorrow, so might as well get started. She pulled out her scroll, and found her moms number, preparing herself for the call. She had to stay strong, cause even outside of the academy, she needed to never miss a beat.

 **This was really fun to write, so I hope you all enjoyed it. I really wanted to play with the racism against faunus, especially in Atlas. Just a one shot, but one I liked writing. This was also nice to write as I have not written anything in a very long time, so getting back into the writing mood is nice. Reviews are appreciated, good and bad. Looking to get really back into writing, so I want as much constructive criticism as possible.**

 **ReaperofHeroes**


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